Pan African network operator Paratus and broadband solutions and backbone infrastructure provider Telecom Namibia have signed an agreement to land the subsea cable, Equiano, in Namibia.
Google’s subsea cable project, announced in 2019, will connect Africa with Europe, running along the west coast of Africa, between Portugal and South Africa and incorporating new technology that enables 20 times more network capacity than the last cable built to serve this region.
The Namibian landing station is scheduled to be completed in the latter part of 2021, with the Equiano cable expected to land in the second half of 2022.
“This is a major milestone for Paratus. We are honoured to be coinvesting with Telecom Namibia on the Equiano subsea cable project because this matches our goals of delivering unlimited connectivity and building Africa’s quality network with all the Internet capacity it needs,” said Paratus Group CEO Barney Harmse.
Paratus, the landing party, and Telecom Namibia have made a significant, undisclosed investment to land the Equiano cable in Namibia.
The increased capacity from the Equiano cable will provide Namibia with the necessary redundancy as a connectivity backup and provide Namibian networks and their customers with greater capacity.
The additional capacity offered by the Equiano cable also further strengthens Paratus’ Southern African Development Community footprint and European network connection, as well as the operator’s long-term growth strategy.
“This collaboration affirms that strategic partnerships between local network providers will greatly promote economic growth and digital transformation, while accelerating Namibia’s participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We are very proud to be an investor in the Namibian branch,” said Telecom Namibia CEO Dr Stanley Shanapinda.